Audacity Forum

Hello,

Hope all is going well.

Does anyone know of a good free downloadable MP3 player to use in websites? I have tried ReverbNation but the code wouldn't work in my program. (Web Easy 7 Professional).

Thank you,
Ms. Cosby Gibson
New York State

The easiest way is simply to link to a playlist, that way the playlist will be downloaded and (depending on the computer being used) will be opened by the default media player, which will then play the tracks from the addresses given in the play list. The main advantages of this method is that it will work on most computers and does not rely on Java, Flash, or other third party applications - it is cross platform and works on virtually all modern computers. Also, most players are able to start playing the file as soon as enough of the file has been buffered, without having to wait for the full file to download.

Thank you Mr. Fiddle, I appreciate your response.
My goal is to have my own songs available on the player. So I would be posting songs that were made with the Audacity program. They do not have a URL associated with them.
Please advise.
Thank you.

cgib55 wrote:Thank you Mr. Fiddle, I appreciate your response.
My goal is to have my own songs available on the player. So I would be posting songs that were made with the Audacity program. They do not have a URL associated with them...

You are wanting people to be able to play your music from your website? Yes?
Whatever method you use, it will be necessary to upload your songs to the internet, and if you have your own web space, then that is probably the best place to put them.

Let's say your web address is http://www.cgib55.somedomain.com
You could create a folder to put your songs in, for example /songs/
The address of that directory would then be: http://www.cgib55.somedomain.com/songs/
Now if you put a song called "mytune.mp3" in that directory, the address of the song would be:
http://www.cgib55.somedomain.com/songs/mytune.mp3

You could create a direct download link to that address, which would allow people to download the song to their computer, but you could also create a playlist.
A simple form of playlist with excellent compatibility, is an m3u playlist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.m3u
In the case described above, the playlist would be a text file with a .m3u extension, and could be something as simple as this: On your website, you would then create a link to the .m3u file.

Wow, that is excellent information, thank you. You've certainly helped me get closer to solving this problem.

I wonder how to put a folder in my webspace? I have a web address (domain), but there is nothing on it except an ad for the carrier. Would I need to upload my web pages in their current state as a first step to getting the folder up there?

Thank you again,
Cosby

We are going somewhat "off topic" here, but I'll try and give you some pointers.

Not all web space is equal.

Many Internet Service Providers will give you a limited amount of "free" web space as part of your broadband/dial up connection deal. Such space is generally around 50 MB, and lacks many of the bells and whistles of "premium" web hosting, but is quite adequate for most personal web sites.

There are also many "free web hosting" providers. Usually this comes at the "price" of having adverts on your web pages.

Then there is "paid" hosting, where you pay an annual, or monthly fee to a web hosting company who provides you with web space for your web site.

Many of the free hosting options have limitations concerning the size of files that you can upload, and the method of uploading. Frequently the hosting company will provide a web based interface through which you can access your web space through a web browser (such as Firefox or Internet Explorer) and upload your files, create directories (folders), modify file names, and so on. While this is convenient for new users, it is the least flexible way of managing the content of your web site.

A much better way, is if your hosting provider gives you "ftp" access.

We are all familiar with "http" (even if we don't know what it means )
Basically, http is a "protocol", a kind of language that web browsers and web servers use to communicate with each other. It allows your web browser to request which web page it wants, then the server can send the appropriate page to the browser.

"ftp" is similar, in that it is an internet protocol, but rather than it being specifically for downloading web pages from the web hosts machine (the "server" application) to the browser (the "client" application), it is designed for transferring files in either direction. "ftp" = "file transfer protocol".

In order to use ftp, you need an ftp client program. A good (and free) program for this is "Filezilla".

If your web host has ftp available, the hosting company will supply you with the necessary information that you need for your ftp client to access your web space. This will include the "ftp address", your user name and a password, and possibly a few other details. When you "connect" to your web space with an ftp client, you will (usually, but it depends on which ftp program you use) see one window with your "local" files (files on your computer - just like an explorer window), and another similar window that shows the files and folders in your allocated web space. You can then copy files from one window to the other, create directories, rename, create and delete files, very much like you would on your own computer.

For the Filezilla client: http://filezilla-project.org/
More information about web hosting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting

PS. If you are intending to use paid hosting (as opposed to free web hosting), do your research - the price and quality vary tremendously and there are lots of deals that look great but can either work out far more expensive than they should, or provide a very disappointing service. After years of searching the market for a reliable web host that could offer the service that I wanted, and all the features that I wanted, I ended up setting up my own web hosting. Of course, if you get free web hosting with your internet account, then although it is usually pretty basic, the reliability is usually pretty good, and the price is right. The main limitation of this kind of hosting is that you are usually limited to using a web address that is a "subdomain" of their web site rather than your own domain name (your own "dotcom").

Thank you, I have a paid host. The company name is Network Solutions. I will contact them to ask about access to a folder.
Thank you very much!

It looks like they provide ftp access with their standard packages, so you just need the ftp details and an ftp client program.